You probably have a dozen or more Wi-Fi connections saved on your Android phone: your home network, friends’ houses, the workplace, and many more. Most of these require a password, which you probably asked the owner for and then forgot about.

Unfortunately, Android doesn’t let you view the passwords of saved networks, so if you want to share a network with a friend, you have to look up the passkey again. Fortunately, there’s a workaround.

Note: Your device must be rooted to use these applications. These apps are meant to retrieve passkeys for Wi-Fi networks you’ve already connected to. They won’t help you break into new Wi-Fi networks.

There are two apps you can use for this purpose that do essentially the same thing. While Wi-Fi Key Recovery is the tried and true solution, it’s horridly out of date (last updated in 2012). Wi-Fi Passwords is a much more attractive app that’s still being updated, but it doesn’t have as much of a following. Use whichever you prefer.

Install your preferred app, grant it SuperUser permissions, and you’ll be taken to a list of saved Wi-Fi networks. For Wi-Fi Key Recovery, the PSK field is the password. Wi-Fi Passwords will have a network’s password underneath it.

Both apps allow you to search for a network’s SSID (the public name you see when connecting to it).

A screenshot will probably do for sharing a password with a friend, but if you need to export your entire list, you can also utilize each app’s built-in sharing options. Having trouble with your network? We’ve shown how to find and change your Wi-Fi password.

What network passwords did you recover with these apps? Which app do you prefer? Let us know in the comments!

Ben is MakeUseOf's Gaming section editor. He holds a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Grove City College, where he graduated Cum Laude and with Honors in his major. He's currently focusing on ramping up MUO's Gaming content to appeal to gamers both casual and hardcore.